Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अहंपूर्वमहंपूर्वं वीक्षयिष्यामि तं हरम् । इति श्रद्धासमो पेताश्चक्रुस्ते शपथं गताः

Transliteration

ahaṃpūrvamahaṃpūrvaṃ vīkṣayiṣyāmi taṃ haram | iti śraddhāsamo petāścakruste śapathaṃ gatāḥ

Translation

“ငါအရင်! ငါအရင် ဟရ (ရှီဝ) ကို မြင်မည်!” ဟူ၍ သဒ္ဓါက ဆောင်ကြဉ်းသွားသဖြင့် သူတို့သည် အချင်းချင်း ကတိသစ္စာပြုကြသည်။

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम् (Nom. sg.)

• पूर्वम्: first
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; ‘पूर्वतया/प्रथमम्’ (first/before)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम् (Nom. sg.)

• पूर्वम्: first
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = adverb; पुनरुक्त्या ‘अहमेव प्रथमम्’ (I first)

• वीक्षयिष्यामि: I will see
• वीक्षयिष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vīkṣ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्कालः) परस्मैपद; उत्तम-पुरुषः एकवचनम् (Future, 1st person sg.)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Masc., Acc. sg.)

• हरम्: Hara (Śiva)
• हरम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; ‘हर’ (शिव) (Masc., Acc. sg.)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक) = quotative particle

• श्रद्धा-समोपेताः: endowed with faith
• श्रद्धा-समोपेताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + sam-upa-i (धातु) → samopeta (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः ‘श्रद्धया समोपेत’ = accompanied by faith; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Masc., Nom. pl.)

• चक्रुः: they made
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) प्रथमा-पुरुषः बहुवचनम् (Perfect, 3rd person pl.)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Masc., Nom. pl.)

• शपथम्: an oath
• शपथम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śapatha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Masc., Acc. sg.)

• गताः: having undertaken (it)
• गताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; ‘गत’ = having gone/entered (here: having undertaken) (Masc., Nom. pl.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudrakoṭi (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims in a dense throng, hands raised, voices overlapping—each declaring, ‘I shall see Hara first!’—as they bind themselves with an impulsive oath.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sincere devotion can become mixed with rivalry; the narrative prepares a dharmic correction toward humility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains the Camatkārapura/Rudrakoṭi tīrtha context where Śiva’s darśana is sought.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An oath (śapatha) is mentioned as a social-religious act, though not prescribed as a formal rite.